"'Is any Sahib or Mem Sahib alive?'
"I lay still. I knew the infernal treachery of these demons only too well, and gave no sign. In another moment I felt a hand on my breast. I controlled myself, I held my breath, but I could not still the beating of my heart. A voice whispered, as if of a person talking to himself—
"'This poor Sahib lives.'
"Then my head was raised, and in spite of my clenched teeth a few drops of some stimulant was forced into my mouth—which, cracked and parched, tasted nothing—I only felt the burning sensation of some powerful spirit.
"'Drink, sir,' said the voice; 'I am your friend; it will restore your strength.'
"I ventured to open my eyes. I saw bending over me a venerable form, and the face of a Brahmin I had seen before.
"'Do not fear, sir; I am Nanukchund; I have no part with these murderous men. But let us not talk; I will take you and hide you if it is possible that you can walk, but we must not be seen.'
"The thought of the possibility of living for the vengeance which had kept me alive through the horrors of that day nerved me afresh; the cramping pains that shot agony through my frame were forgotten; I almost stood upright, but Nanukchund pulled me down.
"'In the name of Budda, caution,' he whispered; 'there may be some who look; if I am seen it will be thought (and he shuddered) that I plunder the dead; but if you, then death will come for both. See, I go to the shadow of yonder house; lie still for a moment, and then crawl like the snake until you reach it; but first drink.'
"I drank, and the fire ran through my veins, and renewed my strength. He, looking to the right and to the left and crouching, soon gained the shadow he had indicated. After the lapse of what seemed an age, I began to crawl thither too, with pain and difficulty indescribable. At length I stood beside my rescuer.